


knowing

by smokebombs



Category: Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja
Genre: M/M, honestly im not sure what to tag this as
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2016-04-02
Packaged: 2018-05-08 12:07:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5496521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smokebombs/pseuds/smokebombs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Randy Cunningham knew a lot of things, but some of those things he didn't like to acknowledge. </p><p>EDIT: this story has been updated!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Randy Cunningham knew a lot of things. 

He knew how to beat the first Grave Puncher in under 5 minutes, he knew the route the city bus took every morning, and he knew how to protect Norrisville High from devastating robot and monster attacks on a daily basis. 

And he knew for a fact that he was completely, utterly, 100% head-over-heels in love with First Ninja. 

Randy couldn't pinpoint when he had first developed a crush on the 800 year old ninja; it may of been when they first met, or perhaps during the frequent training sessions they had in the Nomicon. Nonetheless, Randy had fallen, and he had fallen hard. Making matters worse, he couldn't even tell Howard about it, and Randy would never actually tell First Ninja about these...feelings. The poor guy would probably be scarred for life and refuse to ever speak with him again, something that Randy did not want to happen. So he bottled up his feelings, kept them under wraps, and moved on with his life, hoping that what he thought was 'love' was actually just a bad crush, or intense admiration. 

Randy hid his feelings for two years, but they never really left. They did, however, reveal themselves to First Ninja in a very...accidental way. 

\---

Junior year was proving to be the toughest foe Randy had ever faced; monstrous piles of homework, a constant stream of quizzes and tests, and not to mention the AP courses he (in a lapse of better judgement) decided to take. Currently 17, Randy had grown quite a bit; he was taller, lankier(if that was even possible), and even had a small bit of stubble starting to grow on his chin. He and Howard were still biffers, and he was still kicking robot butt, though things had definitely quieted down after the Sorcerer had been defeated. All in all, if one were to ignore the schoolwork, Randy was doing pretty well. 

Except, of course, he was still in love with First Ninja. 

Randy knew he had to get over this crush; looking over the fact that First Ninja was over 800 years old, there was also the issue of Randy graduating in less than two years, which meant he would no longer be the Ninja, and would forget everything about being said Ninja, and in turn forget about First Ninja. No matter how he looked at it, Randy knew he was shoobed. 

It was dark outside by the time Randy returned home; the deep obsidian sky blanched by the occasional street lamp and wispy fog. It was December, and Randy had had to stay after school to do test corrections and make up some schoolwork he'd missed due to previous sick days. As Randy haphazardly tossed his bag onto his bed, he heard the familiar rumbling of the Nomicon. He groaned lightly, turning to glare at the now glowing book. 

"What is it now, Nomicon? I've had a long day; can't it wait till tomorrow?" Randy huffed, eyes narrowing as the book continued to glow. He kept up this impromptu staring contest with the Nomicon for a few minutes, until he exhaled in defeat, trudging over to the book and grabbing it, deftly opening the pages. "This better be goo-" Randy shloomped before he could finish the sentence, faceplanting onto the hard wood floor with the Nomicon draped over his head. 

As Randy fell through the Nomicon, he had to admit that he would never really tire of the book's illustrations; the scenery, people, dragons, writing, all of it was beautiful to look at. Randy was suddenly jerked from his musings, however, by the impact of his body hitting the dirt floor, wrenching a loud "Oof!" from his now prone form. Randy staggered to his feet, placing a hand on his forehead as he tried to gather his bearings. 

"Okay Nomicon, what is it? Am I getting a new lesson? Training? Idle chitchat?" Randy queried, raising an eyebrow in question. The watercolor clouds above him parted, revealing a message. Randy squinted, reading the message out loud. "Acting on instinct is often the best course of action...What the juice does that have to do with anything?!" Randy squawked in annoyance, crossing his arms. "Look, I love pointless quotes as much as the next guy, but I don't know how this is relevant to the current situation!" Randy snorted in irritation, glaring daggers at the message. Honestly, the Nomicon was so _useless_ sometimes; it dragged him in here to give a completely irrelevant message when he could be doing something important, like sleeping.

"There's no such thing as an irrelevant message, Randy." 

Randy yelped in surprise, whipping around into a fighting stance. He relaxed, however, when he saw that it was just First Ninja. 

"What the JUICE, First Ninj, you gotta warn me when you show up like that!" Randy clutched his chest(dramatically), eyes still slightly wide from shock. First Ninja chuckled, placing his hands on his hips, and Randy was absolutely _not_ thinking about how attractive First Ninja's laugh was. 

"I apologize, Randy. It was not my intention to frighten you. However, you should not brush off the Nomicon's messages as unimportant; each one has its purpose." 

"Yeah, the purpose of being completely pointless sometimes..." Randy muttered under his breath, looking at the ground in contempt. First Ninja raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on Randy's remark. He merely turned and proceeded to walk off, motioning for Randy to follow him. Randy did, trailing after the older Ninja and admiring the scenery as they walked.

"Hey, uh, where are we going?" Randy asked after a minute or so. "I mean, nature walks are great and all, but if we aren't going anywhere, I'd-"

"We're here." First Ninja said simply, coming to a sudden halt, causing Randy to almost crash into him. Randy glanced over First Ninja's shoulder, and saw a small, grassy clearing, surrounded by trees, with a nearby pond. It was a very pretty place, and the watercolor designs of the Nomicon definitely added to the picturesque area.

"Um, what exactly is 'here?'"

"An area that's very close to me; you see, when I was alive, there had been a forest near the village with a clearing within it just like this one. I often went there to meditate or simply get some fresh air. I had such a strong connection with that place that I painted it into the Nomicon; that way, I could visit it even after I was gone."

"Okay, that's nice and all, but why did you bring me here?"

"Because I know you're feeling stressed because of schoolwork; and don't try to lie, I can see the dark circles under your eyes and the weariness in your posture. Either way, I want you to have somewhere you can go to relax when the work becomes too much to bear. You can visit this place whenever you'd like, and as often as you'd like. Consider it a gift, from one Ninja to another." First Ninja concluded, placing his hands behind his back and stepping out of Randy's way, so he had a better view of the area.

Randy was silent, stock-still and trying to comprehend what First Ninja had just told him; what First Ninja had just _given_ to him. He honestly couldn't believe it.

"Have you shown previous Ninjas this area before? Or am I the first?" Randy questioned after a pregnant pause, looking at First Ninja with a thoughtful expression.

"Actually, you're the first Ninja besides me to see this place."

Randy continued to stare at First Ninja, and his eyes widened when he saw the message he once considered pointless appear over First Ninja's head.

'Acting on instinct is often the best course of action...' Randy murmured inaudibly to himself, realization hitting him like a truck. He started to walk towards First Ninja, taking long strides until he was mere inches from him. Randy suddenly pulled First Ninja into a hug, wrapping his arms around the older Ninja's waist, resting his forehead against First Ninja's shoulder.

"Thank you...thankyouthankyouthankyou..." Randy chanted over and over, his grip on First Ninja unrelenting. First Ninja slowly returned the hug, letting his hands rest on Randy's shoulder blades. He smiled, closing his eyes as he let the moment sink in. 

"You're more than welcome, Randy." First Ninja said, still smiling under his mask.

"Seriously, this is the greatest gift I've ever recieved. Thank you First Nin-"

"Yoru."

Randy looked up in confusion.

"Yoru?"

"That's my name. Yoru. Yoru Norisu, if you want my full name." First Ninja, or Yoru, elaborated, still with an unseen smile on his face. Randy nodded slowly, and holy _cheese_ Yoru looked beautiful. Even with most of his face obscured by his mask, Randy could make out the faint wrinkles around Yoru's eyes that indicated he was smiling, and hell, those eyes alone are perfect enough that Randy didn't really need to see the rest of Yoru's face(even if he really wanted to). Without warning, Randy pulled down the part of Yoru's mask that was covering his mouth, and placed a chaste peck on his lips. And if that wasn't acting on instinct, Randy didn't know what was. After realizing what he just did, However, Randy broke the embrace he and Yoru were still in, repeating 'I'm sorry' over and over, before running off, shloomping out of the Nomicon.

Yoru was silent, fingers ghosting over his mouth as Randy fled, taking a moment to comprehend the fact that the current Ninja had just _kissed_ him. In all honestly, for a simple peck, it had been enjoyable; Yoru wouldn't object to another one. He knew, however, that Randy probably wouldn't be shloomping back in for awhile; the poor kid probably thought he hated him or something(quite the contrary). So, Yoru sat in the clearing, deep in thought, as he decided on how he'd tell Randy that he may or may not want to kiss him again once he came back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOO IM BACK 
> 
> since u guys seem to like this fic, i went ahead and added another chapter! idk if i'll add any more, but i guess we'll have to wait and see :^) 
> 
> also if u haven't read the first chapter, first ninja goes by the name yoru in this!

  Holy _cheese_ , Randy was tired.  

The sleep-deprived teen had stayed up all night, unable to fall asleep, plagued by the fact that he had actually _kissed Yoru._ He was such a shoob! How was he supposed to come back from this? 

The simple answer was: he couldn't.

Randy could never open that book ever again. Heck, just looking at it made him anxious. Randy sighed, grabbing the Nomicon and shoving it under a pile of blankets; how was he supposed to be the Ninja if he couldn't even seek the Nomicon's advice anymore? Randy may know a few things, but he wasn't exactly the best at critical thinking. He shook his head of these thoughts, stumbling out of his room and down the stairs to the kitchen, trying to clear his mind as he moved over to the coffee pot to make himself some coffee. He scratched at his stubbled chin, startling out of the hazy 'im so honkin' tired' trance he had been in when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He glanced down and saw it was a text from Howard.

_im bored and hungry. game hole? -howard_

Randy honestly wasn't sure if he was up for a session at the Game Hole, considering the only thing keeping him awake right now was coffee and his own crippling fear of never talking to Yoru ever again. Then again, it'd be the perfect distraction from all the stress this event was causing him. He slowly and clumsily texted back.

_yea oj, meet u tgere at 8 -randy_

Randy couldn't find it in himself to care about the typos and simply sent the message as is, knowing Howard would get the gist. The coffee pot beeped, and Randy grabbed a mug and some creamer, nearly dropping the carton on the floor. He poured the coffee and creamer into the mug, stirring it with a spoon he had put out earlier. Randy whistled lazily, taking a sip of the warm beverage in his hands. It helped him to relax somewhat, and Randy set the mug on the counter, returning to his room to get dressed and grab his wallet. He was about to leave when he saw a flash of red under his blankets, and knew immediately what it was. 

"Ohhh no. No no no. I am NOT going in there." Randy practically ran out of his room, nearly tripping over his own feet as he did so. He made his way back downstairs and checked the time on his phone: 7:15. He grabbed his coffee and drained it in a few gulps before tossing the mug into the sink. He left the house quietly, wallet in one pocket, Ninja mask in the other(Hey, he wasn't gonna _not_ take his mask). It was a short walk to the bus stop, and an even shorter bus ride into the city. Once the bus had opened its doors, Randy stepped out with a catlike stretch, looking over at the Game Hole which was only about two blocks away. He could vaguely make out Howard's small form standing at the entrance, looking impatient. Randy jogged over, and Howard gave him a stern glare once he got close enough. 

"Cunningham! You do realize you kept me waiting for _two minutes!_ You're paying for that by buying me 'chos." Howard walked into the Game Hole, not waiting for Randy to reply. Randy sighed, following his biffer into the Game Hole for a much needed gaming sesh. 

 

They had been playing this unusual zombie racing game when Howard finally mentioned that something was off about Randy.

"Hey, what's up with the bags under your eyes?" Howard looked at Randy more closely, suspicion evident on his face. Randy shrunk under the scrutiny, backing up slightly. 

"B-bags? What bags? I don't have bags! I am the _picture_ of health." Randy suddenly yawned, and the gears turning in Howard's head finally clicked into place. 

"You didn't get any sleep last night, did you?" 

"W-what?! No! I got tons of sleep last night, slept like a honkin _baby_." Howard raised an eyebrow, looking at Randy with an expression that said 'tell me everything or i'll beat the cheese out of you.' Randy sighed in defeat. 

"Yeah, okay, I didn't really get much sleep last night. Or any sleep at all, actually." Howard continued to look at Randy expectantly, waiting for him to explain why he didn't get any sleep. Randy groaned in annoyance, but continued. 

"I was...thinking. About stuff." 

"What kind of stuff?" 

"Oh y'know...school...stuff.." Randy quieted down, looking at the game intently. Howard scoffed. 

"Cunningham, I know for a fact that you practically forget school exists as soon as the day is over. Now tell me again; what were you thinking about?" Randy groaned, rubbing his face with his hands before letting his arms drop in defeat. 

"I was thinking about...someone. Someone I...like...and how I royally shoobed up our friendship and they probably hate me." Howard looked thoughtful, nodding slowly. 

"Okay, so you like someone, and think you wonked up your friendship with that someone? How?"

"I..uh...kissed them..." Howard's eyes widened in shock.

"Woah! Really? Honestly I didn't see you as much of an instigator, Cunningham...impressive."

"Yeah, but I can never see them again because they'll probably run me off if I even try to see them!" Randy groaned, banging his head against the steering wheel on the game cabinet. Howard was silent for a few moments before speaking again. 

"...It's First Ninja, isn't it?" 

Randy spluttered and coughed, trying to form some sort of denial(unsuccessfully, might I add). How the heck had he managed to figure it out so quickly?! Randy was certain that Howard had _forgotten_ about Yoru by this point, since he hadn't mentioned him in months. Glancing back at Howard, he saw a knowing smirk on his biffer's face; curse Howard and his surprisingly decent deduction skills! 

"H-how...do you know that..." Randy said, disbelief evident in his tone. 

"You're not that hard to read, Cunningham. And I know for a fact that you have no close friends other than me and him, and that you wouldn't develop feelings for someone unless you were close friends first. And since we never had any issues and you aren't avoiding me, that just left good old First Ninj." Howard drawled, leaning back against the game cabinet. Randy snorted, crossing his arms like a petulant child. 

"Well, do you have any advice?" 

Howard scratched his chin, thinking. 

"Honestly? Just go talk to him again." 

"WHAT?!" 

"Yeah. What happened after you kissed him? Did you see any disgust or anger?" 

"Well...no...but then again I ran off immediately after I kissed him sooo..." Howard groaned, facepalming. 

"Cunningham you complete shoob! If you didn't even stick around to see any negative reactions, how are you supposed to know if he hated it?!" 

"Uh...I don't kno-" 

"EXACTLY! You don't know! Now go home, open up that book, and face your crush!" Howard was already ushering(shoving) Randy out of the Game Hole and over towards the bus stop. Randy quickly walked away, looking over his shoulder as he left.

"And don't come back until you've talked to him!" Howard shouted after Randy, crossing his arms with a shake of his head. 

"Honestly sometimes I feel like a counselor or something...I should start charging people." Howard continued to think about opening up his own therapy clinic as he entered the Game Hole once more. 

\--

Randy held the Nomicon in a white-knuckled grip, his whole body shaking. He had to do this, at least for some closure. Howard was right. 

"Okay...here we go..." Randy took a deep breath and opened the book, immediately being shloomped in, his body faceplanting onto the open pages. 

Once Randy had landed in the Nomicon(on his feet this time!), he immediately started to look for Yoru, calling his name from time to time, with no response. Randy ran a hand through his hair, an idea suddenly coming to mind. He jogged over to the nearby forest, weaving his way through until he saw the clearing Yoru had shown him yesterday; and sure enough, the older Ninja was seated on a boulder, meditating quietly. Randy swallowed, shuffling closer until he could reach out his hand to tap Yoru's shoulder. 

"Hello, Randy." The younger Ninja yelped, jumping back slightly as Yoru turned around, sliding off the boulder and walking over to stand in front of Randy, his arms crossed casually over his chest. Randy looked down, taking a deep breath before speaking. 

"I'mreallysorryaboutkissingyouwithoutyourpermissionIdon'tknowwhatcameovermebutIjustknewIhadtodoitsoifyouhatemepleasejustsays-" Randy was interrupted by a pair of soft lips on his own, and he was certain his eyes were as big as saucers at this point. Yoru pulled back after a second, looking at Randy with amusement. 

"You're cute when you're nervous." 

Randy was speechless, unable to articulate any words. He simply stood there, his mouth gaping like a fish. Yoru was about to say something when Randy surged forward and smashed their lips together again, one hand on his shoulder and another pulling down his mask. Yoru hummed, closing his eyes and placing his hands on Randy's hips. The two broke apart again after a few moments, Randy's face a light shade of pink. 

"So...uh...I guess you like me too?" Randy said after a short pause, looking at the ground. Yoru smiled, pulling Randy into a tight hug, resting his chin on the younger Ninja's head. 

"Yes, _koibito_ , I do." Randy looked up at Yoru with a confused expression, but smiled when the older Ninja nuzzled his hair affectionately. The two stayed locked in a tight embrace for what felt like an eternity, and Randy knew he was going to have to thank Howard for his advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> koibito - sweetheart 
> 
> (i love the idea of first ninja using cute pet names,,,rip)

**Author's Note:**

> baby's first fic, and already its full of sin 
> 
> honestly i wrote this bcus i love this pairing so much but there's like,,,nothing for it
> 
> also featuring my headcanon name for first ninja


End file.
